Humana Tells Investors About COVID-19 Risks

March 28, 2020 at 02:38 AM
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Humana Inc. managed to overcome all of the COVID-19-related investment market upheaval this week and borrow $1.1 billion from investors.

The Louisville, Kentucky-based health insurer also added a sobering warning about the possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to the "Cautionary Statement" warnings at the bottom of the debt issue announcement.

Resources

  • A copy of the Humana debt offering completion announcement is available here.
  • An article about what COVID-19 health insurance claims could look like is available here.

Humana said it completed a public offering of $600 million in senior notes that pay an interest rate of 4.5% and are due in 2025, at 99.875% of the principal amount.

The insurer also completed a public of $500 million in senor notes that pay an interest rate of 4.75% and are due in 2030, at 99.788% of the principal amount.

Humana may use some of the proceeds to refinance existing debt, the company said.

The Cautionary Statement

Humana has sold stock to ordinary investors.

Like other publicly traded companies, Humana puts warnings about possible risk factors at the bottom of its press releases.

Here's a lightly edited, reformatted version of what Humana said about the COVID-19 pandemic at the bottom of the new debt issue announcement:

The spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, underscores certain risks Humana faces, including those discussed above, such as:

  • The risk that the premiums Humana charges may prove to be insufficient to cover the cost of healthcare services delivered to its members as a result of higher utilization rates, pharmaceutical costs, and expanded benefit coverage.
  • The potential impact on Humana's ability to operate effectively, including as a result of complete or partial closure of facilities, labor shortages, disruptions in public and private infrastructure and supply chains; or increased cybersecurity and information security risk as a result of the transition of a significant subset of employee populations to a remote work environment.
  • The severe impact on global economic activity, including the business of some of Humana's customers as well as the significant volatility and negative pressure in the financial markets.

The rapid development and fluidity of this situation precludes any prediction as to the ultimate adverse impact to Humana of COVID-19.

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